


With Great Power

by orphan_account



Series: Marvel Mini-Fics [1]
Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: American Politics, Gen, Politics, Socialism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:42:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23588587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Spider-Man and Iron Man talk politics.
Series: Marvel Mini-Fics [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709536
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	With Great Power

**Author's Note:**

> This story is not set in the MCU. It's also not exactly set in the Earth 616 comic-verse. Peter isn't a CEO, basically. The Marvel universe is very much just a backdrop for political commentary, anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

"You're a philanthropist?"

"What else would you call me?"

"A billionaire."

"A billionaire who spends his money on the public good."

"You're a billionaire, yet 20% of New York is living in poverty."

Tony laughs.

"You think I'm responsible for poverty."

"The system you benefit from is responsible for poverty, and you have the power to change it. So yeah. You are."

"Peter, you can't end poverty. It's just the natural result of society."

"It's the natural result of capitalism."

"Your point?"

"We live in a country where you can spend millions of dollars on cars and toys, yet two million US veterans can't afford healthcare."

"Toys? You mean my suits that save lives?" 

"Think of how many more lives you could save if everybody in this country had access to free healthcare."

"You're telling me I should influence politics? Isn't that immoral?"

Peter sighs.

"You have to play the system to change the system."

"Peter, Ironman isn't political."

"He needs to be. Tony, my Aunt and I have been living paycheck to paycheck for the past ten years. We're not lazy people, we're not stupid people, but if she were to get cancer, we'd be ruined."

"You know I would hel-"

"But there are millions of people like us in the US, and unfortunately, not all of them are buddy buddy with multi-billionaire Tony Stark."

"I don-"

"If you want to save lives, the system needs to change, and you can change it. You have the power, and with great power, there must also come great responsibility."

Tony stares at him. Peter stares back. His gaze is pointed. He knows his goal, and doesn't falter for a second. 

"You're really determined, aren't you?" says Tony.

"I want to help people."

Tony laughs.

"You're a hero, of course you want to help peopl."

"I see impoverished families, single mothers, mentally ill people abandoned by the system, and I want to help them. But I can't. I'm hardly any better off than them. And then I see you. You're so far above these people socially, you can't see them. You can't see their struggle. You can help them, but you don't."

Tony sighs.

"Peter..."

"What? What is it Tony?"

His voice is hostile. Accusatory. Desperate. 

"I think you should leave."

Peter stares at him like he's trying to solve a puzzle.

"The Tony Stark I know despises ignorance."

"I'm not asking you to leave because I want to ignore you and forget this ever happened, although that sound nice right about now, I'm sending you away because I need to think."

Peter looks shocked. Like he didn't expect this to work, at least not so quickly. 

After a moment of silence, he says:

"Yeah, ok."

Then leaves.

He jumps out the window and shoots a web out towards a nearby building. Tony watches him swing deeper into the city, becoming smaller and smaller until he's gone. 

He sighs again, and pours himself a glass of sixty-thousand dollar whiskey. He falls into his eighty-thousand dollar leather chair,and he looks around his two-million dollar apartment decorated with a ten million dollar collection of fine paintings and sculpture. He takes a sip of his whiskey. Maybe Peter has a point.


End file.
